


The Great Caving Expedition

by Onthecyberseas



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Trapped, caving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 22:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5843341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onthecyberseas/pseuds/Onthecyberseas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle convinces Ruby to go caving with her. Ruby's worst fears are realized when she finds herself trapped inside. Written for the Red Beauty Trope Fest (Trapped In Enclosed Space).</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Great Caving Expedition

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta Lady_Slytherin for her help with the story and the TropeFest.

It all started one evening when Ruby and Belle were sitting in their living room. Ruby had been watching TV while Belle was sitting next to her reading a magazine. Belle had gotten used to reading with the TV on and Ruby liked having Belle nearby. They had been dating for the past year and a half and Ruby had never been happier.

Midway through the episode, Belle tapped her on the shoulder and Ruby paused the TV. “What’s up?”

Belle held up the page she had been looking at. It was a page advertising Fredricksen’s Wilderness Exploration Expeditions. The logo was a strange one: a house with a variety of different colored balloons coming out of the chimney, lifting the house into midair. A caption that said “Adventure Is Out There!” adorned the top of the page and a list of adventures where bulleted on the side of the page next to pictures of smiling adults and children. At the bottom was a coupon that said “Valentine’s Special: Two For The Price Of One.”

“Can we try one of these?” Belle had asked.

Ruby took the magazine from her. “Do you have one in mind?” She skimmed through the bulleted list.

“I was thinking that we could try caving,” Belle replied.

Ruby gaped at her. “You want to go inside a deep, dark cave? For fun?” Ruby wouldn’t admit it, but she was terrified at the prospect. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the dark, as she enjoyed the night far more than most people. It was that she was terrified of being confined into a tight space. She wouldn’t consider herself claustrophobic, but she wasn’t looking to put herself into a situation like that if she could avoid it.

Belle looked at her curiously, “You love the outdoors.”

“I love running through the woods,” Ruby corrected her. “Why don’t we go on the mountain hike instead?” Ruby pointed to the bullet point on the list.

“We always go hiking,” Belle said, “Let’s try something new.” She looked up at Ruby with an adorable expression. The expression she knew Ruby couldn’t resist.

Ruby sighed, knowing that she could never say no to Belle. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, after all she would be with Belle the whole time. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Belle squealed and leaned over to kiss Ruby. Ruby smiled into the kiss, but she was panicking on the inside. What the hell did I just agree to? Ruby thought to herself as she resumed the show she had been watching.

That was how she found herself standing at the mouth of a giant, ominous looking cave, wearing her oldest, worn jeans and a red shirt that she hadn’t worn in years. Next to her, Belle was grinning with excitement. Ruby was putting on a smile, but she was so terrified that she felt nauseous.

Their guide, a short Asian man named Russell stood across from them giving them instructions. Ruby had a hard time paying attention to him as her heart pounded loudly in her ears. She triple-checked that her helmet was on securely and hoped that the light on her helmet would work like it was supposed to.

She felt Belle tap her on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Ruby took a deep breath and put on a brave face, “I’m fine.” Russell finished his instructions and Belle clasped Ruby’s hand. They stepped into the cave and turned their helmet lights on. Ruby was relieved to find that her light was working fine and she glanced around the cave.

There was nothing but rocks and mud everywhere she looked and Ruby’s hands were already covered in dirt. Ruby and Belle glanced at each other before climbing deeper into the cave’s depths. Belle talked to her as they climbed down and Ruby was grateful to have her there to encourage her to keep going.

They reached the bottom and Ruby was starting to feel more confident. Maybe caving wasn’t so bad. She walked along the ground and found another cavern. Belle followed behind. Ruby was careful in her steps, but not careful enough as she lost her footing and slipped into the cavern. She screamed as she slid. She had never understood what people meant when they said that they could see their life flashing before their eyes, but Ruby understood now as she tumbled down the rocks. She heard Belle calling out for her and she reached out to break her fall. Grabbing a rock, Ruby let out a sigh of relief as she held on. She took deep, calming breaths as her heart beat returned to normal. Feeling ground beneath her, Ruby let go of the rock and dropped onto solid ground.

“Are you alright?” Belle called down to her.

Ruby looked up at her and saw her at the top of the cavern. It was a couple of feet up, but there was no way to climb up to it from where she was staying. Looking around, she saw nothing but rock around her. Her breathing quickened and her heart pounded. She backed up against a rock as her worst fears were coming true.

“Ruby,” Belle called again, sounding more worried than before. “Are you okay?”

Shaking her head, Ruby admitted, “No.”

“Russell is bringing a rope,” Belle informed her, “You’re going to be okay.”

Instead of calming her, Ruby was even more terrified. The only thing she feared more than deep, dark spaces was climbing a rope. She let out a terrified whimper.

“Are you hurt?” Belle called to her.

“I’m scared,” Ruby admitted. She looked up at Belle and, to her surprise, saw that she was slipping into the cavern. She dropped down next to her and Ruby grabbed her to prevent her from falling. “What are you doing?”

“I’m staying with you,” Belle said, “Until we can get out of here.”

“But now we’re both trapped down here,” Ruby said.

Belle glanced around. “I know,” she replied, “but I’d rather be here with you.” Ruby was touched by the gesture and wrapped her arms around her. Their faces and clothes were both covered with mud but Belle was still as beautiful as always.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, but Ruby felt much more comfortable in her girlfriend’s presence. Ruby heard a rope drop next to her and they looked up to see Russell standing above them. “Grab on,” he called down to them. 

Ruby looked at the rope in fear. Belle took her hand in hers, “You’ll be fine. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” They shared a quick kiss as Ruby tentatively grabbed onto the rope. True to her word, Belle called out words of encouragement as Ruby climbed up the rope. She soon found herself at the top of the cavern and Russell helped her climb out of the hole. 

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ruby was thrilled to get out of there. She called down to Belle as she climbed out behind her. Soon, they were reunited and they followed Russell out of the cave.

They reached the mouth of the cave and Ruby had never been more glad to see sunlight. Belle smiled over at her, “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

Ruby took a deep breath, “I guess not.” She paused before saying, “I’m not exactly dying to get back down there though.” They both pulled off their helmets and handed them to Russell.

“Thanks for agreeing to try it with me,” Belle said, “even if you didn’t like it.”

Slipping her hand into hers, Ruby replied, “Thank you for being there for me.”

“I always will be,” Belle grinned at her, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Ruby may have hated the experience, but knowing Belle was happy made the whole thing worth it. 

They kissed again before climbing into Ruby’s car. Starting the car, Belle smirked. “You know, we’re both going to need a shower when we get home.”

Ruby had never driven faster in her life.


End file.
